[size=5]Swedish expat dies on notorious Phuket coastal road[/size]
The road from Patong to Karon has been the scene of many motorbike crashes
over the years. There has been no public transport between the towns since 1994.
Photo; Gazette file
PHUKET: -- A Swedish expat who ran a Phuket guesthouse died on Saturday in a motorbike accident on a notoriously dangerous stretch of coastal road in Karon.
Patong Police received a report at 10:20am that a “tourist” crashed his motorcycle and died on Wiset Road, which runs between Patong and Karon.
Peter Nyman, 48, died when he overshot a curve on his motorcycle in heavy rain and struck an power pole, said Chalong Police Duty Officer Nittikorn Rawang.
The crash was a result of the bad weather conditions and the slippery road surface, Capt Nittikorn added.
Karon Beach Rescue Unit, the first responders at the scene, transported Mr Nyman’s body to Patong Hospital for examination.
“Peter Nyman had lived in Phuket for almost a year. He lived with his Swedish girlfriend and they ran a guesthouse together in Karon,” a consular official at the Swedish Embassy told the Phuket Gazette.
Mr Nyman’s ex-wife and three children in Sweden have been notified and were “in shock when they found out about him,” the official said.
“They might come to Phuket to pay their respects to Mr Nyman,” he added.
The accident happened on a dark section of Wiset Road, near Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort.
The dangers posed by potholes and uneven surfaces are compounded by scores of fast-moving tuk-tuks and other passenger transport vehicles that shuttle tourists between the popular tourist beaches of Patong and Karon.
Since 1994 the Phuket Land Transport Office has been trying to get a bus or songthaew operator to provide public transport for the route, but none dare since the last person to try it was dragged from his vehicle and beaten unconscious by tuk-tuk drivers.
A recent meeting of Phuket’s top transport officials openly admitted the problem persists today.
Because of the high rates charged by the tuk-tuks, many tourists opt to make the trip by motorcycle, with many tragic results.
